


A Galaxy of Mischief

by Northern_Lady



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fun, Holding Hands, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Rivalry, Sometimes fade to black, Tricksters, insecure, post Endgame, very short chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-30
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-19 14:17:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: Gamora and Peter are coming for a visit and Nebula doesn't want to face her sister without a boyfriend this time. A certain god of mischief agrees to play the role of boyfriend for a little while.





	1. Chapter 1

Nebula was feeling stressed. It should have been a good day. Thanos had been defeated a week earlier. Their friends were all alive and the Avengers had just gotten word that Gamora and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy would soon be joining them at the complex to celebrate. Yet in spite of the good news, Nebula kept breaking coffee mugs and throwing items in fits of temper all day. After kicking over a trash can when the paper she attempted to toss into it missed, Tony finally addressed the issue. 

“Do you have some sort of cyborg virus or is there a reason you’re breaking everything you touch today?” Tony asked her as she kicked the trash can on the floor a few more times for good measure. 

“I’m having a bad day,” she said, her gaze on the crumpled metal trash can and not on the Avengers seated at the table behind her. 

“Uh...no...a bad day is a little spilled milk or a ketchup stain on your favorite shirt. This is something worse,” Tony prompted. 

Nebula turned to face them. “My sister will be here tomorrow. She brings with her an arsenal of weapons, a ship of her own, two best friends and a boyfriend. All I have to my name are two swords and three sets of clothes. I have never been one for close friendships and if she even once mentions my lack of romantic partners I will shave her hair while she sleeps.” 

“You think your sister is going to care that you don’t have a boyfriend?” Bruce asked, a little confused. “I didn’t think you two were close anyway.” 

“We weren’t. But she used to always make a point of letting me know about all the dates she rejected. Our father’s men were always interested in her and she always rebuffed them. It was just something else she got to win at. And now she is coming here and she wins again.” 

“It doesn’t have to be a competition,” Wanda offered. “Not anymore. Not after she basically died to protect you.” 

“It shouldn’t be,” Nebula admitted with emotion in her tone. “For once I want to be her equal. I don’t want her to come here and feel sorry for me.” 

“I may have a solution,” Loki spoke up. 

“What solution?” Tony asked. He had accepted Loki’s presence for Thor’s sake but was always wary of what Loki said and did. 

“If you want your sister to meet you again with a boyfriend then you simply need someone to play that role for a week or two,” Loki suggested. 

“A fake boyfriend?” Bruce asked. “Which one of us could act well enough to keep up the ruse for a couple of weeks.” 

Loki shrugged. “Well, I did pose as Odin for more than year before anyone suspected I wasn’t him. Besides, Nebula and I have met before. It was only briefly when I first met Thanos but Gamora doesn’t know that. It would be easy to convince her that there was more to our history than there actually is.” 

Nebula gazed at him in a moment of shock. “Why would you do that?” she said when she found her voice. “Why would you help me like that?” 

“Because I know what it is to be outshone by an older sibling and because it is a good bit of mischief. I can’t resist a good trick,” Loki explained. 

Nebula thought about his words a moment. “If I agreed to this, none of you would tell Gamora the truth?” 

“I’m not gonna mention it,” Bruce said. “I don’t want to get involved with your family issues.” 

“Besides, maybe it would be a good thing,” Wanda continued. “Maybe the two of you will become friends as a result.” 

“Okay, but this is the only secret I am keeping involving Loki,” Tony agreed as all the others nodded. 

“You’ll probably have to share a room if you expect Gamora to believe it,” Nat pointed out. 

“I have no problem with that,” Loki agreed. 

“It’s fine,” Nebula gave as an answer though in truth she wasn’t sure she was fine with it at all. She had very rarely shared a room with a man in all her life. Two weeks was going to be a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Loki moved all his things into Nebula’s room that same night. They knew that the move would have to take place before Gamora arrived so there was no other way around it but to move Loki in right away. Thor helped to carry things and watched over the entire proceeding with concern. 

“Are you sure you want to do this, brother?” Thor asked Loki when the two of them were alone in the hallway outside of Nebula’s room. 

“Of course. It will be easy,” Loki said without doubts. 

“I did not ask if it would be easy. I asked if you were sure you wanted to do it,” Thor went on. 

“Why wouldn’t I? Your friends still don’t trust me. This is my chance to do something helpful and earn their trust and have a little fun while I’m at it. I don’t see the problem.” 

“The problem is, Nebula is a lonely woman. What if she learns to care for you for real?” 

Loki crossed his arms across his chest. “I still don’t see the problem.” 

“Are you saying that you…?” Thor began. 

“I’m not saying anything at all,” Loki moved a step away from his brother. “I have to unpack.” 

***

Nebula was grateful that Loki did not have a lot of stuff to add to her room. He re-entered with the last load and closed the door behind him. 

“Where would you like this?” he asked, holding up a small cardboard box of books. 

She pointed to an empty shelf near the door to her bathroom. “Over there is fine.” 

Loki crossed the room and began to line the books up on the shelf. Nebula watched him warily. He turned to face her once the books were all on the shelf. 

“Have you read all those books?” she asked him. The hour was late and she wasn’t ready to go to bed yet. She needed to stall for time. 

“All of them,” he nodded. 

She approached the shelf and looked over the titles. “I don’t know these books. Are they Asgardian?” 

“Some are. This one is from Jotunheim. These three are from earth.” 

They were fine looking hardcover books with gold writing on the spines. Nebula reached out and touched one of them. She had never owned anything of value. Thanos may have been a king but she was never a princess. His father had probably given him plenty of finery. Sure, Odin had lied to him about his adoption but he had never tortured any of his children. They had been treated well. These books, if they hadn’t come from Odin, had probably been obtained as a result of Loki’s charm, a quality that Nebula knew she did not possess. It really wasn’t fair. 

“You do realize,” Loki interrupted her thoughts, “That if your sister is to believe this scenario tomorrow, she will expect us to have a certain degree of...familiarity.” 

Nebula tore her gaze from Loki’s fine books and looked up at him. “Of course. It’s fine.” She said, unsure that it really was fine. 

“Is it?” he said, reaching out to touch her cheek. 

Nebula swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had touched her gently. It felt sort of nice and for reasons that she couldn’t define, that made her angry. She reached up and pulled away his hand. “Yes, it’s fine. Tomorrow.” 

She fled to the bathroom and shut the door to ready herself for bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Loki changed out of his leather into green flannel pants and a black t-shirt. He was already waiting in the bed when Nebula returned wearing gray yoga pants and a white tank top. She hesitated only a moment before climbing into bed next to him and switching off the bedside lamp. 

“Before you sleep, we still need to talk,” Loki said in the darkness. 

“About what?” Nebula asked, though she already knew the answer. 

“What do you want to tell your sister?” 

Nebula was silent a moment. “Whatever we tell her, Gamora will never believe some stupid romantic tale of gifts and flowers and dances. She knows that’s not how I operate.” 

“How do you operate?” Loki asked. “What sort of a story would Gamora believe?” 

“I don’t know,” Nebula said, frustrated. “I never really did long term relationships. A few of my father’s guards stayed a night. Nothing more.” 

“And how did they convince you to allow them to stay? Perhaps she would believe a story similar to that.” 

“The first did not convince me. I lost a bet and he won the right to a night in my bed. The other two flirted with me and promised me things. For the first it was a weapon and the second a chip that could override Thanos tracking my cybernetics.” 

“So...you have never had an actual relationship?” Loki said, a little saddened to hear it. 

“Don’t sound so sorry about it. None of those men hurt me. All three of them were nice enough for the night they spent with me. I have no regrets.” 

Loki fell silent for a moment. “If she asks, we could tell your sister that you saved my life when I tried to escape Thanos all those years ago and when I met you again a few weeks back, I insisted on returning the favor, which resulted in…” 

“In this relationship where you now sleep in my bed,” Nebula finished for him. “I suppose that story could work. You wouldn’t take insult in having your life saved by a woman?” 

“If that woman were you, not in the least,” Loki replied without hesitation. 

Nebula turned away from the lamp on the bedside stand and rolled to face him. “What is that supposed to mean? I don’t have my sister’s skills as a warrior or her beauty. So what are you trying to say?” 

“Whoever said you don’t have her beauty?” Loki told her genuinely. “They were wrong. Very wrong.” 

Nebula let out a near silent gasp of breath before speaking again. “Well, I suppose we have a story to tell her. The only thing left to do is convince her it is true.” 

“Agreed,” Loki said. 

Nebula turned away from him again and did her best to sleep in spite of the unfamiliar warmth in her bed.


	4. Chapter 4

When Gamora was due to arrive, Loki waited at Nebula’s side. They all stood on the roof of the Avengers complex waiting for the ship to land. As it touched down, Loki surprised Neula by taking her hand. His hand was warm and somehow it helped, knowing that she didn’t have to face Gamora alone this time, that this time she wasn’t just a disappointment as always. This time she had someone, someone who would stand at her side and hold her hand. 

She knew it was pathetic and she knew it shouldn’t matter since the entire relationship was a farce anyway but Nebula found herself leaning a little nearer to him anyhow. He noticed and held her hand a little more firmly. 

“It will be alright,” he told her quietly enough that the others couldn’t hear. “She will have absolutely no reason to feel sorry for you for the entire length of her visit. I promise it.” 

Nebula wanted to ask him why he was doing this? Did he truly value mischief that much? Did he feel sorry for her himself? There was no time to ask anyway. The ship was arriving. Besides, Nebula wasn’t sure she even wanted to know the answer to those questions. Not if he did feel sorry for her. 

Gamora was the first to exit the ship down the ramp. She strode down with an air of confidence as if she owned the place. At least that’s how it appeared to Nebula. Gamora was followed by Peter who was trying to look confident but only succeeded in looking overwhelmed. This was his first time back on his home planet since he was a child so she supposed it made sense that he would be a bit out of sorts. Nebula caught a glimpse of Drax exiting the ship before she heard Mantis squeal and come running to hug her. 

“It is so good to see you!” Mantis told Nebula as she threw her arms around Nebula for a hug. Mantis pulled away after a moment and glanced to Loki with confusion on her face, then back to Nebula again. 

“It’s good to see you too,” Neula said, biting back her worry. She hadn’t considered until now that Mantis would probably be able to see through the whole ruse. 

“You are Thor’s brother?” Mantis said to Loki. 

“Indeed, I am. You must be Mantis,” he said, offering a hand to shake. Nebula wished he wouldn’t do that. 

Mantis shook his hand and her expression changed from her previous confusion to one of realization. Before Mantis could say anything more or Nebula could react, Gamora was there, standing in front of her sister. 

“Nebula…” Gamora said simply, emotion in her tone. Gamora hugged Nebula as well and when she stepped away, she stopped to look at the way Nebula and Loki’s hands were joined. 

“Gamora, you remember Loki?” She asked, hoping that detailed explanations wouldn’t be necessary. 

“I do remember. I hadn’t realized the two of you were...close,” Gamora said. 

“It was a recent development,” Loki explained. 

Gamora looked mildly skeptical of this information. “I must say I am surprised. I thought my sister hated men. I am glad I was wrong about that.” She glanced at Loki. “I hope you never give her a reason to change her mind about it either.” 

Loki opened his mouth to reply but Mantis spoke up first. “You don’t have to worry. He feels great affection for her.” 

Tony Stark joined the group just then and Gamora turned to greet him. No one was paying Nebula or Loki any attention so she glanced up at him with questions in her eyes. “Great affection…?” she dared to ask. 

Loki smiled a little and then shrugged. “You caught me.” 

Nebula didn’t reply. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t think anyone had ever felt great affection for her. And she didn’t even know what that meant. Did he care for her as a friend? In a romantic way? She would have to ask Mantis about it later. Then she wondered why did she even care unless she felt something for him in return. Nebula told herself that she didn’t. Then she realized that while Gamora was busy reuniting with the others, she was still holding Loki’s hand. She was still holding his hand and she didn’t want to let go.


	5. Chapter 5

The entire day kept them busy. Takeout was ordered, drinks were served, and a lot of socializing took place. Tony Stark was in his element. Nebula was not. She had never much liked parties. It wasn’t that she was afraid of social situations. She simply didn’t see the point of them. Loki on the other hand seemed perfectly comfortable with all the activity. He told stories and made people laugh. After a few hours Nebula retreated to a corner of the room with a glass of punch. Mantis broke off her conversation with Bruce Banner and came to join her. 

“You are worried,” Mantis said, getting herself some punch from the bowl. 

“How do you know that from over there?’ Nebula asked her. 

“Emotions have a face. Everyone can read that face. Why are you worried? Do you worry that your boyfriend does not care for you enough?” 

“No I…” Nebula couldn’t decide if she should just tell Mantis the truth or not. “Does he?” 

“Does he love you? I do not know. Not all emotions are present at all times. When I touch someone, I feel the strongest emotion first. Whatever emotion they are thinking about right then is the one I feel most strongly. Other emotions are deeper and harder to find,” Mantis explained. “When I know someone for a long while they are easier to read.” 

That wasn’t exactly helpful. “So you could tell that he does at least care?” 

“Oh he cares a great deal,” she said reassuringly. “Just as you do.” 

“I don’t…” Nebula started to protest then remembered how futile it was to argue emotions with Mantis. 

“Yes you do. You admire him and you also worried.” 

Nebula gazed across the room to where Loki was engaged in conversation with Thor and Gamora and Peter Quill. He was animated and they were engrossed in his story. Mantis was right. She did admire him. She even liked him. She just didn’t know what to do about it. 

Peter Parker arrived to join the party at 4PM after school and brought with him a copy of a really old movie. Everyone relocated to a big living room. The alcohol was put away and popcorn was brought out. Nebula was one of the last people to enter the room with the rest of the group. Most people were already seated on sofas or in recliners. Gamora sat on a sofa and Peter Quill sat next to her with his arm around her. Most of the seats were taken. Vision and Wanda sat on the floor in one corner and Loki was seated on the floor in another corner. Nebula went to him, knowing it was expected. 

Nebula had intended to sit next to him on the floor but Loki took her hand and tugged her gently to sit down between his legs with her back to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her middle just as the room went dark and the film began. She felt her breath catch in her throat. 

“Relax,” he whispered in her ear, his breath on her neck. “I won’t bite.” 

“I know that,” she replied quietly. She didn’t want him to think she was afraid of him. That wasn’t the issue at all. She forced her body to relax and leaned back against him. 

Nebula could hardly pay attention to the film at all. She was wholly and utterly distracted by Loki and the closeness they shared. Nebula had never been close like this with anyone. She could count on one hand the number of times she had been hugged since she had been a child on Luphos. Four times. Four times since that night when her biological father had hugged her goodbye and gone to battle against Thanos with the rest of the Luphomoid army. He had lost that battle and Nebula had never seen him again. She had forgotten what it was like to feel that someone cared. She had forgotten what affection felt like. And now sitting there with Loki she couldn’t think about anything else. 

The film ended, the lights came on, and everyone started getting up for a bathroom break. Nebula started to move and Loki tightened his arms around her. “Wait, Gamora hasn’t seen you here yet,” he told her. 

Nebula stayed put and waited for Gamora to get up from her seat next to Peter and take note of where she sat. A moment later Gamora got to her feet, turned, and her eyes met Nebula’s. She gave a small nod of acknowledgement and then left for the bathroom’ Loki still did not let her go. 

“She’s gone now,” Nebula prompted. 

“So that means you want to leave too?” Loki asked. 

Nebula turned enough to meet his eyes. She should just admit it, admit the fact that she wanted to stay, that she liked sitting with him like this...and yet she couldn’t do it. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I never get it anyway.” 

Nebula pulled free from his arms with more force than necessary and fled to the women’s restroom along with Gamora, Nat, and the rest of the women.


	6. Chapter 6

Nebula left the bathroom stall and went to a sink next to Gamora to wash her hands. 

“You almost look happy, you know?” Gamora said as she reached for a paper towel. “You and Loki.” 

“And why does that surprise you?” Nebula asked, not really understanding her sister’s thinking at all. “What made you think I hated men in the first place?” 

Gamora looked confused as she tossed her paper towels into the trash can and turned to Nebula. “I thought after that whole incident with Corbin that..” Gamora trailed off, doubt in her tone. 

“What about Corbin?” The man had been one of her father’s guards, the last of three who had spent a night with her. 

“He turned up dead. Stabbed twenty seven times. It was brutal.” Gamora explained. 

“He died?” This was news to Nebula. Shocking news. “Well I didn’t kill him if that’s what you thought.” 

“It is what I thought. It’s what we all thought. When Corbin’s body was found, Thanos made some speech about how the man got what he deserved. He said his daughter preferred the company of women and Corbin had not been willing to accept your wishes. All of father’s men thought you were sending a message, a loud and clear message that you were off limits.” 

Nebula dropped the bar of soap in her hand. It finally made sense. It all made horrifying sense. The way her father’s guards had avoided her, rejected her. Even the way Gamora had always gloated about the dates she turned down. Gamora had meant to express her dislike of bad men, to share something in common with her sister, not to flaunt her beauty. 

“Oh Nebula…” Gamora said sadly. “If I had known...you were even more lonely than I realized and I only made it worse…” 

Nebula took a step back. Gamora was looking at her with that look, the one she hated so much. “I don’t need your pity.” She fled the bathroom without even drying her hands and entirely unaware that she was crying. 

She met Loki in the hallway and continued right past him, unable to face him in her current state. She heard Gamora exit the bathroom and call after her. 

“Nebula wait!” Gamora said with emotion. 

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Nebula didn’t even look back. 

“What happened?” Loki asked Gamora. 

“It’s a long story,” Gamora said, and that was the last she heard of the conversation. 

Loki found her ten minutes later in in the gym beating a practice dummy to a pulp. 

“Gamora told me about Corbin. I know you’re angry,” Loki said with concern. 

“What makes you think that?” Nebula said as she stabbed into the practice dummy, tore its head off, and kicked the head across the room. 

“Well you’ve beheaded an innocent bystander for one.” 

“You think I shouldn’t be angry?” She said moving on to attack a punching bag. 

“Nebula, I am not here to tell you how to feel.” 

“Then why are you here?” She sobbed out the words, unable to hold back her raging emotions. “Why did you suggest that we trick my sister like this? Why did you say I was as pretty as Gamora when you didn’t have to? And why have you been so Goddamn nice to me?” 

Loki looked a little disturbed by her display of emotion but he quickly put it aside. “I tried to get your attention every day for the past two weeks. You barely noticed. I suggested this trick on your sister because it seemed to be the only way.” 

The rage she felt was leaving her as she comprehended the meaning of his words. “The only way for what?” She had to know. She had to hear him say it. There was too much rejection in her history to let this go without hearing the truth spoken plainly. 

“It is as Mantis said, I feel something for you. I wanted to spend more time with you and see where it would go.” 

Nebula knew she should say something, probably something expressing her agreement to spending more time together but words failed her entirely. She just stood there, in open mouthed disbelief. 

“Is that a problem?” Loki broke her stunned silence with his question. 

“No...no it’s…” She finally found her voice. “It’s a good idea.” 

He nodded, a little relieved. Then he reached over and took her hand. “They want us to try some Midgardian food called lasagna. We should go.” 

Nebula went with him out of the gym and back to rejoin the others.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time all the Avengers and Guardians began heading to their rooms for bed, the hour had grown late and Loki could see that Nebula was exhausted. It was emotional exhaustion if Loki had to guess. She had put on a brave face all evening while trying to make Gamora believe that the lie that Thanos had spread about her didn’t matter anymore. She didn’t want her sister’s apologies or her pity or her gazes of concern. Loki had done what he could to support Nebula in her efforts by simply keeping her close and making sure that Gamora noticed it. 

Loki and Nebula returned to their room and Nebula crossed to the bed and collapsed on top of the covers. Loki went to the bathroom and by the time he returned to her she was sound asleep. He didn’t try to wake her. He simply pulled back the covers, climbed into bed, and went to sleep. 

Loki’s dreams were strange that night. He dreamed of a little townhouse in a city on Luphos and a little blue skinned girl who lived there with her father. The man was named Veron and every day while the girl went to school, Veron worked as a city guard. Every night he came home smelling of Daegrass spice and he cooked dinner for the child, read her stories, and put her to bed. She was safe with her father, and happy, and she knew she was loved. 

Then Thanos had come to her world. Veron told his daughter that he had to go join the battle. The girl had begged him not to go, had clung to him weeping, and Veron had said goodbye all the same. So she had run away from her caregiver and gone looking for her father. Instead of finding him, she had stumbled onto a battlefield filled with violence and death. The girl had never seen suffering like this before. She had never felt such fear. Her father had shielded her from even knowing that pain like this even existed in the universe. Now that she had seen it she was all the more afraid for her father’s fate. 

The girl tripped and fell as she fled the screams of battle. She picked up her head and found the largest boots she had ever seen standing in front of her. She looked up to see who wore them and saw him for the first time, Thanos. 

“Hello child,” he said stooping down to her level. “What is your name?” 

“Nebula,” she had said, shaken. “Have you seen my father? His name is Veron.” 

Thanos scratched his chin thoughtfully. “As it happens, I have seen someone by that name. Your city guards are brave here, more formidable than I had anticipated. The one called Veron got close enough to very nearly kill me. But don’t worry, I won’t make you stay orphaned. You have a new father now.” 

Nebula picked up her tiny child body and stood to face him. “You’ll never be my father.” 

“We’ll see about that,” Thanos had smiled. 

Loki woke with a gasp. Nebula was still asleep. She had rolled close enough to him that her forehead was resting against his shoulder. He understood then that the dreams he’d had were her memories. He could take memories from people if he wanted to. He had never done so in his sleep until now. 

He watched her sleep for a while before sleep finally found him again.


	8. Chapter 8

Loki and Nebula awoke the next morning to loud pounding knocking on the bedroom door. 

“Loki? Loki?” Thor’s voice called from outside the door. “I have need of you brother.” 

Loki threw back the covers, crossed the room, and wrenched open the door. 

“What?” Loki said with annoyance. 

“I have something that will be of interest to you,” Thor explained. 

“At this hour?” Loki continued. 

“Yes, at this hour. Come and see?” 

Loki followed Thor out of the room and Nebula soon followed after the both of them. Thor led them to a computer lab and there was a picture on the display screen. 

“What is this?” Loki asked, gazing at the picture of space. It looked similar to the milky way but somehow different. 

“That is the place where Asgard was destroyed. And all of that….” Thor gestured at the white swirl on the screen. “Is the casket of ancient winters.” 

Now Loki was interested. “It must have broken open when Asgard was destroyed.” 

“Exactly. However, it can not stay open. You were able to wield the casket once before, Brother. Do you think you could do it again?” 

Loki gazed at the screen a little longer. The implications here were huge. There was no longer an Asgardian Vault to put the casket into even if he could contain it. And did he even want to hand over such power to Thor or the likes of SHIELD anyway? 

“Loki?” Thor said warily. “I know that look. You can’t use it for any of your mischief. Not this time. I needs to simply be contained before it consumes any nearby planets.” 

“I am the rightful king of Jotunheim,” Loki turned to Thor. “With the Ancient Winters, I could take my place there as King. Don’t try to dissuade me Thor. You know I would be a better king than some Frost Giant that you have never met before. I would be better for the realm than a stranger.” 

“You might be right about that. Placing you as King of Jotunheim isn’t the mission,” Thor explained. 

“Mission? So the Avengers are in on this too?” Loki asked. 

“Of course. I don’t use computers. I would have never seen this without Banner’s help.” 

“And you already planned out your mission without even telling me? The Frost Giants are my people too, whether you like it or not. I was meant to rule them. You never intended to let that happen.” 

“It’s not as simple as that Loki,” Thor argued. 

Loki felt Nebula come up alongside him and take his hand. “Forget their mission,” she said giving his hand a squeeze. “You don’t need them to be King of Jotunheim.” 

Loki glanced down at her with questions in his eyes. She had a look of determination on her face. It was then that he understood. Nebula had a plan. “I don’t,” he agreed, his gaze staying with her and not returning to Thor. “What do you need me to do, Brother?” he asked. He would go along with it for now and wait to see what Nebula had in mind.


	9. Chapter 9

Loki shut the door to their bedroom and turned to face Nebula. He had all but dragged her there after breakfast because he had to ask, he had to know. 

“So what is it? What’s your plan?” He asked. 

“I don’t...I don’t have any plan,” she said, confused by his question. 

“You said I didn’t need the Avengers assistance to become king of Jotunheim. I thought that meant you had some other plan in mind.” 

“I only meant to say, that if you want to be king, we can do it without them,” Nebula explained. 

Loki’s eyes widened. “We?” 

Nebula was a little uncomfortable with the question. “I’ll help you do it if you want. I think you would be a good king. Far better than Thanos. Better than Odin.” 

Loki let out a breath. Finally, someone who saw him as being worthy to rule. “And you would help me become king?” 

“If you’ll let me,” she gave as a reply. 

“Let you?” Loki grinned, “I could kiss you right now.” 

“Then kiss me,” Nebula said without missing a beat. 

Loki pinned her against the wall when he kissed her. Nebula didn’t seem to mind. She got a grip on the fabric of his shirt and attempted to pull him even closer. Loki willingly complied. 

The two of them might have stayed there all day if not for the knocking on the bedroom door. 

“Nebula?” Gamora called out. “Nebula are you in there? We need to talk?” 

Loki broke away from her with a groan and Nebula went to the door. 

“Nebula I…” Gamora began then stopped, staring at Nebula’s clothes. 

Nebula looked down at herself to see that four buttons of her blouse were unbuttoned. Loki hadn’t done that while they were kissing. She was sure if it. His hands had been occupied with her backside. Which meant he had unbuttoned her shirt with magic for Gamora to see and assume she had interrupted something. Nebula shot a questioning glance at Loki to be sure and he just shrugged, amusement evident on his face. 

“What is it you think we should talk about?” Nebula asked as she began to rebutton her shirt. 

“I think we should speak alone,” Gamora said. 

“Fine, I’ll leave you to it,” Loki said almost agreeably. 

Gamora waited for Loki to go out of the room and around the corner before speaking further. “Stark’s going to ask you to join the mission,” Gamora said simply. 

“Why? I’m not an Avenger. I’m not a Guardian either. Are you here to tell me to stay out of it?” 

“No…” Gamora replied, a little hurt. “I’m here to tell you to be careful. There are a lot of agendas at stake here. I don’t want you to get hurt.” 

Nebula wanted to tell her it was too late for that. She wanted to tell Gamora that if she had truly cared she would have said something years ago, would have done something years ago, but she said nothing of the sort. “You don’t think I should go?” 

“I think you should. You might be the only person who has any influence over Loki if he doesn’t stick to the plan.” 

“So that’s my role in this mission? Keeping Loki under control?” Nebula asked, irritated. 

“It probably won’t come to that. You’ll at least tell us what he’s up to?” 

“I will not. I won’t be your spy.” Nebula was angry that Gamora would ask this of her. 

“Nebula, I’m not asking you to be a spy. I am asking you to take a side. Loki wants to be king of Jotunheim. Stark thinks that’s a bad idea. Tony very well may be able to convince the governments of this planet that it’s a bad idea for Loki to rule. In the meantime Thor serves the greater good and at the moment is rather conflicted about what good even is. If he supports Loki, the Asgardians will follow. You need to pick a side before you get caught in the middle.” 

“You want me to pick a side?” Nebula spat the words. “Don’t worry. I already did.” 

Gamora nodded, a defeated angry look on her face. “I guess you have.” She said as she left the room. 

Nebula nearly jumped out of her skin when Loki stepped out of the closet to her left. “How did you get in there?” 

“Illusion spell. I never left.” 

“Right,” Nebula sometimes forgot he had so many magical abilities. 

“I don’t think Gamora likes the side you chose. Are you sure you picked the right one?” 

Nebula didn’t even hesitate before answering. “I am sure.”


	10. Chapter 10

By the time evening came, a group of them had packed up a few essential items and boarded the Benatar. There wasn’t room on the ship for all of the Avengers and Guardians to be involved in this mission. Those selected to attend began with Bruce Banner for his scientific knowledge. Tony Stark would be able to survive in space with his suit and wouldn’t have considered staying behind. Peter and Gamora would fly the ship. Vision could survive in space and Thor had wanted him there and Vision had requested that Wanda come as well. Which left only Loki and Nebula was the last members of the party. 

Nebula boarded the ship and went below the cockpit to stash her bag beneath one of the six bunks. 

“We’ll have to sleep in shifts,” Bruce commented as he put his own bag beneath a bunk at the end of the row. 

“Or double up,” Loki gave as a reply. “It shouldn’t take more than ten days to get there. It won’t be so bad. You could share a bunk with Stark.” 

“For a guy who is supposed to be really wise, your math is a little off,” Bruce said to Loki. “There are six bunks. One for Peter and Gamora, a second one for Wanda and Vision, the third one is for you and Nebula, which leaves the last three for me and Tony and Thor. Unless you plan on coming clean about a few things and requesting different accommodations we should be all set.” 

“Coming clean about what?” Gamora asked as she climbed down the ladder to join them. 

Bruce stared at Loki and Nebula as if waiting for them to confess. “Nothing,” he finally said, annoyed. 

“No…” Gamora was shaking her head. “No, there’s something going on with you, with Nebula. She hasn’t been herself since I got here. I need to know what it is.” 

“There’s nothing going on,” Nebula said, angry. “Is it really that hard for you to believe that I’m fine? That I don’t need you to go easy on me or to rescue me or pity me, for once?” 

Gamora looked a little hurt, “I never thought you did,” she said as she tossed her bag on top of a bunk and climbed back up the ladder. 

Bruce just gazed at the two of them looking disappointed. “I told you I didn’t want to get into the middle of this. I’m not gonna tell your secret but I think things would be a whole lot simpler if you would just tell her.” 

“There’s nothing to tell,” Loki spoke up. “What started out as a lie has very nearly become the truth.” 

“Oh, so you two are…?” 

“Yes,” Nebula said a little forcefully. “So just let it go.” 

“But how do I know you’re not just saying that?” Bruce asked skeptically. 

“Just saying what?” Thor climbed down the ladder to join them. 

“That a lie has very nearly become the truth,” Bruce said. 

“I’ve never heard that riddle,” Thor replied. 

“It’s not a riddle. It’s what your brother here said when I told him he needed to confess the truth to Gamora. It was fine when we were having a reunion party at the compound but this is different. I just think this whole mission thing will go a lot more smoothly if everyone is honest about where we stand.” 

Thor thought about Bruce’s words a moment. “It may very well be the truth. Loki hinted at an interest in Nebula before all this began.” 

“It is the truth,” Loki started to say but was interrupted by the sound of old earth rock music blasting from above them. 

Peter Quill stuck his head down. “We got some tunes for the takeoff. You guys coming up to see how to fly this thing?” 

“On my way!” Nebula called out and was the first to go for the ladder. She’d had about enough of that entire awkward conversation.


	11. Chapter 11

Nebula played stayed up well past the time everyone else went to bed. She occupied herself doing routine maintenance on the ship. Peter tried to tell that the ship was fine. Rocket had gotten everything ready for them before they left. Nebula had ignored him and continued her work. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to share a bunk with Loki, it was that she did. She wanted it more than she had wanted anything in a long time and the feeling scared her. All day long she had been thinking about the kiss they had shared. No one had ever kissed her like that before. 

Loki found her well past midnight as she was keeping busy changing a filter. “Aren’t you tired?” he asked her. 

“Not really,” she replied, unable to make herself look at him. 

“Nebula, if I have overstepped and you prefer to sleep alone, that can be arranged,” Loki offered. 

“It’s not that,” she said simply. 

“Well then, I will leave space for you whenever you are ready,” he said and left her to her work. 

It was another hour before Nebula found the courage to face her feelings and go to bed. Loki liked he was asleep in the bunk so Nebula carefully climbed in a lay down next to him. There was no way to avoid falling over the edge without keeping rather close to him. She had little choice but to turn onto her side and let her body rest against his. She let out a gasp of surprise when he moved his arm just enough to wrap it around her. 

“I thought you were asleep,” she whispered. 

“No, I was awake. I didn’t really want to sleep alone. It seems that you did.” 

Nebula shook her head. “I lied before. I was tired. I wanted to come to bed sooner I just…” 

“Then why didn’t you?” he asked, concerned. 

“This is all a little...overwhelming,” she tried to explain. “It’s been years since I’ve had a life that resembled anything normal. I don’t want to ruin it.” 

“I must confess, I have some telepathic abilities. I saw some of your childhood in my dreams. I may very well see more of your memories if we sleep in close proximity like this. My point is, from what I have seen, I can understand why you would be hesitant to trust anyone new. I am going to live a long time. I am willing to give you time.” 

Nebula didn’t reply to that. She simply moved a little closer to him and kissed him. He pulled her as close as he possibly could and kissed her in return. His hands roamed her body while he slowly and gently kissed her for a very long while. 

“I wish these bunks weren’t so open,” Nebula whispered as the time passed. 

“I can cast an illusion so they won’t be,” Loki told her. 

She nodded, and he cast the spell.


End file.
